Alpha's Anguish
by Bunny Fair
Summary: Deucalion slowly blinked awake and sat up, frowning as he looked around. Furniture was broken, fluff from cushions was scattered around, and a heavy scent of fear filled the apartment. Standing up, he slowly made his way through the apartment and spotted Peter sprawled on the bedroom floor, the remnants of claw marks across his chest and arms. What had he done?
1. Chapter 1

Deucalion slowly blinked awake and sat up, frowning as he looked around. Furniture was broken, fluff from cushions was scattered around, and a heavy scent of fear filled the apartment. Standing up, he slowly made his way through the apartment and spotted Peter sprawled on the bedroom floor, the remnants of claw marks across his chest and arms.

Deucalion frowned and kneeled down, gripping the younger mans shoulder. "Wake up, Peter. What happened here?"

Peter jerked awake and sat up, letting a breath when he saw Deucalion. Peter leaned back against the closet door and sighed. "I don't know. It was the full moon, but I blacked out. I remember... screaming and we must've fought."

Deucalion deeply inhaled and closed his eyes. Fear was scattered throughout the apartment, but was strongest around the closet door. Anger lingered, along with an underlying scent of lust.

Peter slowly pushed himself to sit up and Deucalion grabbed his arm, helping him move aside. Deucalion opened the door and stepped forward, softly growling when a barrier appeared. A thick layer of mountain ash formed a barrier, preventing him from entering the closet.

However, a wave of fear washed over him. The faint smell of blood was stronger here, he noted. His eyes widened slightly, spotting a small figure curled up tightly in the corner, her head resting against the wall. Another circle of mountain ash protected her further.

Peter peeked around and poked at the barrier, pressing his claw against it. "Alice! Alice, wake up! Are you okay?!"

Deucalion took a deep breath as she shifted and she slowly looked up, jolting further back when she saw them in the doorway. Peter stopped poking as he heard her heartbeat spike and Deucalion frowned, curling his fingers tightly.

Deucalion cleared his throat and kneeled down. "Alice, darling, come out of here. I promise it's safe. I smell blood, are you hurt?"

She slowly peeked up through her fingers and he smiled gently, Peter kneeling down beside him. She sniffled softly and looked over them before slowly standing up, gripping her left arm. Blood stained the oversized sweater she wore and dried blood lingered on her hands.

Peter took a deep breath as she slowly shuffled out and slowly stood up, pausing when she stopped just before the barrier. She rubbed her eye and sniffled, looking over them. "Are," she took a shaky breath, "are you two okay?"

Deucalion nodded and held out his hand. "I promise, we're okay. Come out of there, darling. Let me look at your arm. Is it still bleeding?"

She sniffled and stepped out of the closet, leaning into Deucalion when he wrapped his arms around her. He buried his nose in her hair and she loosely gripped his arms, peeking up at Peter. Peter gently combed his fingers through her hair and kissed her temple.

Deucalion gently scooped her up and tucked her close, carrying her to the bathroom. She tucked her nose in his neck and inhaled, gripping his shoulders. Peter followed and sat on the edge of the tub as Deucalion set her on the counter.

He kissed her forehead and guided her hands to let go, grabbing the first aid kit out from under the sink. She smiled slightly and Peter took an offered roll of gauze before Deucalion extended a claw, slicing the sleeve above the bloodstains.

She glanced down at the sleeve and he gently held her arm, looking over the claw marks. She shifted and glanced over at Peter, softly mumbling, "Peter protected me the best he could. You were... angry and hurt me."

Deucalion took a deep breath and closed his eyes, grabbing the bottle of rubbing alcohol. "I deeply apologize. I have not lost control like that in years, since I was a pup."

She nodded and rubbed the tears off her cheeks with the remaining sleeve. Peter softly sighed as he wrapped his wounds and stood up, gently cupping her cheeks. He kissed her forehead and mumbled, "Get cleaned up, I'll check the damage."

She squeezed his wrist and nodded, glancing down as Deucalion soaked a cotton ball. Peter walked out and shut the bathroom door, giving them the sense of privacy. Deucalion gripped her arm gently and mumbled, "I'm sorry, darling, but this will hurt. You can hit me or bite me if you need to."

She nodded and gripped his upper arm, pressing her forehead against his shoulder as he pressed close. He smiled tightly and gripped her arm, dabbing the marks with the cotton ball. She whimpered softly and tightened her grip, pressing her nails into his arm. He kissed her temple and concentrated on taking the pain through her hands on his arm.

She sniffled and held onto him, leaning into him. He wrapped her arm and gently tugged on her shirt. She shifted and lifted her arms, letting him pull off the shirt. He looked over her methodically and relaxed, gently rubbing her arms.

She smiled slightly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Thanks. I'm okay."

He pressed his lips to her forehead and took a deep breath. He softly mumbled, "I'm so sorry."

She held onto his shoulders and closed her eyes. "I know. It's okay."

He rubbed her back and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. She leaned into him and nuzzled his shoulder, gently rubbing his arm. He took a deep breath and relaxed as her scent changed to a much calmer, sweeter scent.

He smiled slightly as she continued to rub his arm and held her close. She may not be a wolf, but she still tried to comfort him; her alpha. He truly got lucky meeting her.


	2. Chapter 2

Deucalion knew that things would change after his... outburst. But not to this extent. He didn't expect this strong of a reaction to come from his sweet little mate.

It started small and he knew to expect that. She would linger more towards Peter and keep more distance between her and himself. She still slept in the bed with him but would sleep on the far side, putting Peter in the middle.

After several days, he noticed Alice hardly slept, even as far from him as she was. So, he resigned himself to the new, plush couch. It was nowhere near as comfortable, but it gave her the sleep she needed.

He typically left before dinner, to give her private time with Peter and to check on the rest of his pack. Ennis was surprisingly fond of the area and the boys were continuing their schooling. Kali disliked staying in one place too long which made her antsy but she was adjusting.

Whenever he came back, well after Alice had curled up in bed, food was stored away neatly in containers for him. He ate quietly, sometimes Peter would sleep free to join him and give him updates on her.

She was healing properly, but slowly. Whenever an alpha wounded another alpha, it healed at a normal pace. A beta and it healed much more slowly and painfully. To a human, even with a Spark, it was even slower. Peter took whatever pain he could from her while she slept, but it only helped minimally. The scars would forever linger, though.

Two weeks passed since the incident and she slowly relaxed around him. They returned to having movie nights together, but she sat on the far side, opposite of Peter. Dinners were together again, but painfully silent. Peter attempted to make conversation, but they fell flat.

Deucalion slowly returned to sleeping in the bed, keeping far to one side with Peter in the middle. Deucalion laid awake for most of the nights, listening to Alice breathe. Occasionally, he would reach over Peter and take more pain than Peter could at once.

The wolf inside him was thoroughly irritated, being so close yet so far from his mate. He refused to push himself onto her, knowing it would only make things worse. She still wouldn't hold his gaze, nor would she linger in a room alone with him for more than a few minutes.

It hurt. It hurt a lot. Not just his inner wolf, but himself. To see the bandages on her arm every day hurt. To notice her sweet scent twist sour whenever he got too close. To see her always look away from him, the fear dancing in her eyes.

The worst thing, though, was feeling the bond between them fray and wear thin. They'd had the strongest bond he felt since his original pack bonds. However, it was now uncomfortably wearing thin. It made him ache and no matter how much she tried to hide it, he could feel Alice aching too through the remaining bond.

He knew it was his fault; Peter tried to reassure him it wasn't, that something had possessed him or he had been poisoned. Or maybe he simply had been holding back for so long, even rarely sparring, that the tension finally snapped.

It didn't matter what the reason was. Deucalion lost control. He hurt a packmate. Not just a packmate, but his mate. His very human, very mortal mate. He scarred her, he scared her, he ruined their bond. He did, no one else.


	3. Chapter 3

Alice awoke with her head pounding, feeling like she had ran head-first into a brick. She tried to raise her arm to rub her head and frowned when she felt a rough rope around her wrists. She softly whined and looked around, squinting in the low light.

She was tied firmly to a chair, almost too tightly. Her feet were tied to the legs and she faintly felt bruises forming along her arms and a thick knot forming on her forehead. She softly groaned and closed her eyes, focusing on her magic.

Breathe, Deucalion had taught her. She sucked in a breath, thinking back on their lessons. He was always so kind and while he did push her, he didn't push her too far at once.

Biting her lip, she thought back on one of her first lessons with Deucalion. It was simple, reach out with her magic and make a mental map while also finding the men. Using their bonds, she could find them even easier, he had told her.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on stretching out her Spark. She easily latched onto Peter's bond and followed it. Directly outside the room she was in was one lone guard, holding a very large gun.

She swallowed thickly and followed along her bond with Peter, keeping track of the amount of guards. Two, heavily armored men with large guns stood outside of a thick steel door. She peeked in and felt her heart stop, seeing Peter tied to a metal table. His back was almost perfectly arched as electricity coursed through his body.

A man sat beside him, looking thoroughly bored as he toyed with a dial. She quickly pulled herself back and panted heavily, hanging her head. She clenched her eyes shut and sobbed softly.

She licked her lips and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She focused on her and Deucalion's bond and bit her lip at the weak state of it. She carefully followed it and sent her magic through it, carefully mending it as she followed it.

She reached another thick steel door and slowly peered through it, preparing herself for a scene similar to Peter. Instead, he sat in a chair, tied to it with thick chains and a circle of mountain ash around him. He looked deathly calm as he stared at the glass and she felt his heartbeat, slow, steady, and strong.

She smiled slightly and relaxed some, gently coaxing her magic to look through the glass. She saw two men standing there, their mouths moving as they spoke. Knowing Deucalion, he could hear them but she couldn't with her magic.

She took a deep breath as she focused on the mountain ash and tried to move it, feeling the coarse ash shift. She gasped as she was jerked back into reality and felt her cheek sting with a harsh slap. She clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip.

"No magic shit, you bitch!"

She flinched as he slapped her again and gripped the rope tightly, nodding slightly.

The man smirked and tangled his fingers in her hair, tilting her head back. She glared up at him and bit her lip as he pulled harshly, keeping from crying out. He grinned widely and she focused her magic, forming a barrier on her skin.


	4. Chapter 4

Deucalion felt the bond between him and Alice shift and kept his face even as he inwardly smiled. He could feel her concern for him and even noticed the mountain ash move. The bond between them seemed to silence quickly, most likely someone interrupted her.

He took a deep breath and glanced down at the circle of mountain ash. He knew he was being watched and his watchers also knew that he could break the chains at any time. He was more concerned with how to get Alice out safely and then discovering how they kidnapped them in the first place.

He softly sighed, staring at the glass boredly. "If you plan on torturing me, it'll be ineffective. I've endured more pain through these years than what you little hunters could do."

He smirked as their heartbeats picked up and heard feet shuffling nervously. He listened to a door open and heard someone walk closer before entering the room. He gave the man a short glance; mid-thirties at the latest, not very experienced or well-armed from the simple handgun on his hip.

He sniffed discreetly and smirked wider. The fool wasn't even carrying wolfsbane bullets. How such a poorly-armed hunter could kidnap him was truly shameful.

The hunter stepped forward and crossed his arms. "We have both your mates, the Hale beta and your human emissary. The Hale's currently being tortured and well... your human girl isn't looking so cute anymore."

Deucalion tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "How did you take us?"

The hunter narrowed his eyes and rested a hand on his gun. "That's none of your business. Now, you're going to tell me where the rest of your pack is or your little mate is gonna start losing fingers."

Deucalion softly sighed and settled back, extending his claws behind his back. These chains were nothing special, it'd barely take a flex to break them. "Oh, you're far too young to be picking fights with my pack. Release me and I won't rip your throat out. My dear Alice recently cleaned my claws and it'd be a shame to dirty them so soon."

The hunter twitched and glared, stepping forward to aim his gun at the smirking alpha. "Shut up! Where the hell is the rest of your pack?!" The man stepped back, suddenly holstering his gun. "Fine, you won't tell me on your own and the Hale doesn't have anything but sass to respond with. I'm sure the girl will answer much easier."

Deucalion rolled his eyes, both out of irritation and to take notice of the mountain ash barrier shifting. A sliver of an opening appeared and he smirked as the hunter turned, reaching for the door. Honestly, this was too easy.

Deucalion softly growled and his eyes glowed red, easily breaking the chains to stand up. He rolled his shoulder and stepped out of the circle, barely flinching as a bullet pierced his chest, the hunter scrambling to get out.

Deucalion growled audibly and inhaled as fear quickly permeated the room, darting forward to slice his claws through the hunter's neck. He sighed as blood stained his shirt and shook his head, kicking the door open. Honestly, this was one of Alice's favorite shirts to steal.

He easily made his way through the cowering hunters and forced a door open, spotting Peter tied to a table. Deucalion made quick work of the beta's bonds and helped him up, looking over him.

Peter panted heavily and slumped into him, resting his forehead on his alpha's shoulder. "Thank god. Where's Alice? You should've gone to her first."

Deucalion held his shoulders as he swayed and nodded. "Catch your breath, I know where she is."

Peter nodded and gripped the edge of the table, taking a deep breath as Deucalion swiftly walked out. Deucalion felt through his bond and followed it. He pushed the door open, softly growling at the heavy scent of his mate's fear and pain. He quickly stopped in his tracks, seeing a man holding Alice to him with a gun to her head.

Alice panted heavily and gripped the man's arm around her throat, bruises littering her face and arms. There was a small dribble of blood slowly dripping down her face. He could tell her breathing wasn't just from being partially choked, no, she must've had a cracked rib at the least.

The man shakily gripped his gun and stared at the bloodied alpha, gulping thickly. "Stay back! I'll kill her! I will!"

Deucalion tilted his head in a mock-bow and stepped aside, folding his claws and fangs back. "Do not harm her."

Alice sobbed and stumbled as the man pulled her out, carefully backing out. She stared at Deucalion and he flashed his eyes red, a tiny smirk showing a fang. She smiled slightly and relaxed, loosening her grip.

The man glanced at her and froze at a roar behind him, yelping when Alice suddenly dropped down and being silenced by a pair of fangs sinking into his throat. Deucalion stepped forward to pick her up and Peter growled lowly, letting the man drop to the floor.

Peter kicked him away and turned to Deucalion, focusing on the shaking woman in his arms. Deucalion held her close and his veins blackened, easing her pain. She gripped his shirt and sobbed softly, burying her face in his chest.

Peter took a deep breath and kissed her temple. "Let's get out of this hellhole, it's starting to reek."

Deucalion nodded and they made their way out of the warehouse. Deucalion roared once they were outside, calling his pack. They didn't have to wait long before Ennis pulled up in a black SUV.

The large alpha didn't ask, he knew better than to ask, what with his alpha being bloodied along with his mate cradled in his arms. Peter was oddly quiet, gently looking over Alice and gently cupping her cheek, mumbling to her as she faded in and out of consciousness.

Deucalion continued taking her pain, slowly as he examined her various wounds. Cracked ribs, a twisted ankle, raw wrists, small patches of hair missing, a busted lip, and thick bruising all on her face, forcing her right eye closed. She tried to hide her face from him, but Peter would keep her focusing on something else.

Ennis drove to the apartment building the pack was staying at and they quietly rode the elevator. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to be awake and they owned nearly half the building anyway. Kali was waiting at the door, looking over them.

Deucalion walked past her and to the bathroom, noticing she skipped over her usual growl to Peter. Peter followed closely behind and shut the door, turning on the shower to warm. Alice usually preferred as hot as the shower could go, but she was in no condition to enjoy it properly.

The two quickly undressed themselves and sliced her clothes off, their claws never touching her skin. They stepped into the large shower and the water ran over them, turning the floor under them ugly red and brown. Deucalion held her against him and gently rubbed he sides as Peter combed shampoo through her hair.

Peter gently washed her off and quickly washed himself off, holding her into his chest as Deucalion cleaned off. Deucalion scooped her up after securing a clean towel around himself and held one over her, carrying her to his bedroom. Peter followed after and spotted Kali holding a bag of clothes.

Holding onto his towel, he walked over to her. "Got something for us?"

Kali held it out and rolled her eyes. "Yes, clothes so I don't have to see you prance around naked."

He took it and glanced through it, ignoring her lingering stare. "Thank you. She will be okay."

She crossed her arms and nodded. "Good. Let her get hurt again and I'll rip your throat out."

He lightly smirked, knowing the threat was without any bite. "Of course."

She nodded and turned on her heel, walking away as he entered the room. He shut the door behind himself and softened at Deucalion gently patting Alice dry. She was propped up against the plush pillows, her head resting back against the headboard as faint bruising began to appear on her neck.

Peter dumped the clothes onto the bed and handed Deucalion a soft button-up shirt as he grabbed a pair of gray sweatpants. Deucalion gently guided the shirt onto her and took a pair of his own sweatpants, swiftly pulling them on. Peter pushed the rest of the clothes back into the bag and crawled into the opposite side of the bed.

Deucalion guided Alice to lay down between them and she whimpered softly, biting her lip as her eyes watered. Deucalion gently squeezed her hand as she raised her hand and smiled softly as she trailed her fingertips along his cheek. He smiled softly and easily absorbed more of her pain, watching as she slowly dozed into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The penthouse was painfully silent, especially given Peter only left to gather their necessities from their apartment, so he was typically around Kali. Ethan and Aiden were obviously worried, lingering in the doorway of Deucalion's bedroom after bringing the bowls of warmed broth. Kali was allowed in, if only to clean up Alice's nails and paint them. The only consistent noise was the cooking shows Ennis watched, but lacked the commentary from the viewer.

Alice slept for days, only waking up to drink warm broth or to be taken to use the restroom. She healed painfully slowly, even with Deucalion and Peter working together to take it away. She healed far too slowly, even for a human. Especially for a human with a Spark as bright as hers.

Deucalion took a deep breath, closing his laptop to set it on the bedside table, adjusting the blanket to lay down beside her. He gently held her waist and held her close, pressing his forehead to her temple. She breathed slowly, occasionally gasping before settling down again.

The gasps were originally more constant, worrying him before they calmed down. Her ribs healing, he assured himself. It had originally been three or four times an hour, dwindling down to only once an hour. Peter had a harder time sitting still, usually pacing around the penthouse or reading through one of Deucalion's books.

Deucalion closed his eyes and tightened his grip, his veins blackening. He focused on the bond between them and grabbed it, oh so carefully examining her Spark. It continued to glow, but was much dimmer. It once threatened to blind him, before he began teaching her to control it and she began using it so often.

He smiled to himself, burying his face in her hair. The moment she began to learn levitation, she would find the cookie jar on the top shelf and bring it down to herself. There had been many nights in the woods, as well, hiding her presence and scent, seeing how long she could hold it up before they would find her. Her current record was just under 3 hours, so long as she had a head start to hide.

He inhaled deeply and stood up, gently cradling her in his arms. Walking to the living room, he allowed himself to make noise, alerting Ennis to lower the tv volume. The large alpha stood up, disturbing the napping Kali on his side.

She glared at him and faltered when she spotted Deucalion, quickly standing up. Deucalion cradled her close and nodded to the couch before sitting back, letting them move the furniture to unfold the mattress in the couch. Deucalion gently rubbed Alice's cheek with his thumb, not looking up when the twins wandered in to investigate.

It had been a long time since they had a proper pack cuddle, and there was no better occasion than to heal a wounded packmate to cuddle. Ennis settled on the bed first, all the way against the back and his limbs spread out. Deucalion gently set Alice on the bed and climbed up, settling against Ennis with his back against his chest.

Ethan slipped away as Kali gently lifted Alice, handing her to Deucalion. Deucalion held her close and Kali settled flush into Ennis' left side, Aiden climbing in behind her to take up the rest of the space. Ennis loosely hugged their shoulders and Peter followed Ethan out, looking thoroughly tired and rumpled.

Peter settled on Ennis' right side and gently cupped Alice's cheek, kissing her forehead. Deucalion relaxed as Ethan laid across his lap, his head on Peter's leg. Peter half-heartedly combed his fingers through Ethan's hair and relaxed into Ennis' side as the larger man held him close.

Deucalion held Alice close, softly rumbling, low in his chest. Kali trailed her fingers along Alice's leg, gently massaging the soft flesh. Peter rested his head on Deucalion's chest and relaxed, moving his hand from Ethan's hair to comb through Alice's hair.

Ethan gently rubbed Alice's back and nuzzled Deucalion's thigh as Aiden carefully reached around to rub her other leg. Ennis began to rumble, practically vibrating the bed. Peter easily relaxed into his side and yawned widely, red tinting his tired eyes.

Deucalion smiled softly and gently cupped Alice's cheek, kissing her forehead, his scruff brushing against her nose, making it scrunch up. He chuckled softly and carefully adjusted her, letting her legs go over Kali's lap, propping her up against his chest as he held her waist. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peter dozing off, using Ennis' broad chest a pillow.

Pack cuddles were much more common among regular packs, with proper betas and omegas, and of course amongst actual wolves. The alpha pack only cuddled after much more nagging from one or both of the twins, who were so used to being left out. And even then, it rarely lasted over an hour or two.

This time, however, they stayed like that for hours. Peter slept, softly snoring with Ethan slowly following his lead, loosely holding Alice's hand. Aiden dozed in and out, his head on Kali's shoulder while he held Alice's ankle. Kali stayed awake, half paying attention to the tv and occasionally sharing a soft kiss with Ennis. Ennis watched the cooking competition, mumbling commentary or nodding along when someone did something properly.

Deucalion's entire focus, though, was on his wounded mate in his arms. She had stopped gasping the second hour in and her breathing had evened out fully. While she had previously been deathly still, she started to shift and move on her own, if only to find a more comfortable spot.

Four hours in from the initial settling and her visible bruising was already much paler, almost disappearing completely. He pressed a slow kiss to her eyelids as they began to flutter open and felt her hand fumble to grip his arm. He gently held her hand and guided it to his lips, pressing a sweet kiss to her knuckles.

She slowly blinked awake and mumbled softly, closing her eyes for a moment before lifting her head. She licked her dry lips and looked around, slowly blinking as her brain caught up. She shifted and grunted when her back popped.

Deucalion chuckled softly, gaining her attention. He smiled softly and gently cupped her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers. He softly mumbled, "I'm happy to have you back with me, my beloved."

She smiled softly and relaxed into him, weakly mumbling, "I love you."

He smiled and gently kissed her, focusing on her Spark. It glowed so brightly once again, threatening to rip the sight from his eyes. Threads reached out, connecting her to each member of the pack. The largest two, even in size, were connected directly to himself and Peter. It seems as though pack cuddles were necessary for her to heal.


	6. Chapter 6

Alice was floating in an empty space. Darkness surrounded her, feeling thick and heavy, almost like being bundled in a heavy weighted blanket. Despite the heaviness, it wasn't uncomfortable. It was comfortable in a way.

Despite the weight being comforting, it was cold, not quite painful, but still uncomfortable and made her feel an ache. It was easier to stay curled up, cradled in the heavy darkness. There was no warmth, but no chillbumps rose on her skin either.

It was silent, which normally would make her anxious but she simply felt... nothing. There was an absence of any emotion or feeling. It should've scared her, but she simply accepted it. It wasn't a particularly new feeling for her.

Occasionally, though, the silence would be broken. A low voice spoke to her, an accent attached to it. The voice was soothing and she focused on it whenever it reached to her. The accented voice always seemed to be reading something, sometimes something older with longer, proper words she couldn't understand, and sometimes something newer, about dragons and princesses locked away.

Other times, it was another voice. This one deeper, sounding more tired every time it reached her. The deeper voice always spoke quietly, as if scared of disturbing her. This one didn't read, instead it told her of other people, things going on around her, keeping her informed of people's worry.

Sometimes, she would be pulled from the cold. A warm liquid would be poured down her mouth, warming her belly. It was the main feeling she had, floating in nothingness. She faintly noticed being moved every so often, but took no heed of it. It was better to let whatever happened happen.

She wasn't sure how long she had been floating when a small orb of light appeared, almost blinding her despite it's small size. She slowly covered her eyes with her hands and looked down, dimming the light greatly. She stayed that way for what must have been hours or maybe days, she really had no sense of time.

Slowly, she began to peek out and look at the orb. She groaned when she began to move her aching limbs and reached for it, trying to grasp it. She bit her lip as the aching grew to be too much and yelled out, pushing herself forward to grab the orb.

As soon as the orb was gripped in her palm, it exploded. Millions of images flashed before her eyes, not pausing or slowing to allow her time to examine them. She covered her eyes again and screeched, curling into a tight ball.

She sobbed softly as the images began speaking all at once and clamped her hands over her ears, clenching her eyes shut. She just barely managed to yell out, "STOP!"

The noises stopped at once, the images freezing in time. She slowly peeked up again and took a deep breath, staring at the blurred frozen images. She took a deep breath and focused on an image, willing it alone to play.

Twins were bickering, holding up different dresses. One held a tight, strapless black dress while the other held a red halter dress. She tilted her head and softly sighed, mumbling, "I like the red one more."

Alice blinked in surprise and glanced down at her hands at the feel of bags being pushed into her hands, a store logo on the front. They'd ended up buying both, not being able to decide. The zipper on the black dress ended up being torn, tossed on the floor to be forgotten.

She continued onto the next scene, a much quieter affair. She was watching her toenails get painted, a dark purple by a woman with black fingernails. The woman was smirking, commenting on how both of them would like it.

She frowned, looking down at her hands as the clothing bags changed into a bag of nailpolish. She poked through it and softly mumbled, "Who would like it?" The twins?

She shook her head and continued on, flinching back as large man appeared, the nail polish disappearing into the darkness as she dropped it. The man was focusing on the pan on the stove, several other pots on different spots of the stove. As water boiled in one, he pointed a cabinet.

She watched as the scene shifted ever so slightly, watching her own hands reach out to pull a strainer out to set in the sink. As he carried the pot over, he commented on needing to leave soon, before they got home. They who?

She groaned and rubbed her temples, forcing herself to keep from curling up. She could feel it, she was getting close. Who were they? Surely not the twins, they looked too young and immature. Who the hell were they?!

The scenes blurred together for a moment before stopping suddenly. She looked between two pairs of dark red eyes, glowing in the soft light. The dinner table was set, candles giving the room a soft glow.

She wasn't scared, though. The red eyes didn't scare her as they moved closer. Claw-tipped hands were strangely gentle as she was lifted up, into a pair of strong arms. Wine-flavored lips met hers, a claw dragging down the back of her dress.

That night was pure pleasure, three bodies moving together as if they'd done this a million times. It was far too dark or the angle was all wrong throughout the scene to get their faces though. However, she could feel their warmth, their love weaving into her very core.

She smiled softly as the images disappeared and took a deep breath, the orb of light returning to hover before her. She reached over and gently guided it close, curling around it. She cradled it in her hands and looked down at it, taking a deep breath.

Hugging it close, she closed her eyes, feeling it slowly grow. It encased her, surrounding her in warmth and a wave of emotions. She smiled widely as tears streamed down her cheeks and watched as trendrils reached out, disappearing into the darkness as they stretched. Four thin ones and two thick ones.

She reached out and grabbed one of the thick ones, feeling a soft repetitive vibration in it. She pulled herself along it and smiled widely, the weight lifting off of her as she continued to follow the trendril. The vibration slowly turned into a soft thudding, slow and steady.

She slowly blinked awake and mumbled softly, closing her eyes for a moment before lifting her head. She licked her dry lips and looked around, slowly blinking as her brain caught up. She shifted and grunted when her back popped.

Deucalion chuckled softly, gaining her attention. He smiled softly and gently cupped her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers. He softly mumbled, "I'm happy to have you back with me, my beloved."

She smiled softly and relaxed into him, weakly mumbling, "I love you."


End file.
